Originally Posted by
bhrubin
It's the Marriott Southfield outside Detroit. With 223 rooms and only 3 suites. I doubt the suites are particularly impressive.
All suites are not made equal. All suite upgrades are not made equal, either.
There is a significant difference between a suite upgrade at a suburban Marriott or Sheraton or small town Courtyard/Four Points...and a major city/resort Marriott, Renaissance, Westin, Le Meridien, etc. And there's an even more significant difference between those and a suite at a W, let alone a Luxury Collection or St Regis hotel (or Ritz-Carlton).
I've been upgraded to suites at many brands like Four Points, Sheraton, Marriott, Renaissance, Le Meridien, Westin, Hyatt, etc. They aren't even close to being as nice or impressive as suites at W, St. Regis, and the like.
Therein lies some of the non sequitur challenges of 1:1 comparisons.
Yes I understand this. There's no need to keep repeating it or to be so condescending. I fully understand that hotels come in different categories and that concepts such as service/upgrades/suites/etc. have somewhat different meanings at different types of properties, but I also appreciate when a not so impressive hotel in a more minor location gives me their best suite and also a small surprise gift.
I've had above and beyond upgrades at many top hotels, including the Plaza (NYC), PH Vendome (Paris), PH Buenos Aires, Copacabana Palace Rio, Imperial Tokyo, GH Rio, Chateau Lake Louise--two floors, Hotel des Indes, Hotel d'Europe (Amsterdam)--two floors and an amazing terrace, the place in Versailles that once was a Westin with the two star Michelin restaurant--two floors, Grand Hotel Stockholm, Manchester Hyatt (San Diego), Hotel de Crillon (Paris, with sauna, before renovation), PdG Paris (to the same suite type you were given), Raffles Singapore, Peninsula Hong Kong, W Hong Kong, RC Hong Kong, Canyon Suites (LC at the Phoenician Scottsdale), Westin at Napa, Ivy (LC Minneapolis), HR Minneapolis (Presidential Suite with a library), Westin Edina Galleria (club level one bedroom suite with an amazing bathtub that filled from the ceiling), LRM Bangkok, LRM Shanghai, LM Boston/Cambridge, LM Minneapolis, LM Barcelona, Laguna Bali (LC and before Bali had so many other Starwoods), Palace Hotel Lausanne, StR Singapore, StR Atlanta Buckhead, Ciragen (spelling?) Palace Istanbul, Windsor Court New Orleans, Observatory Hotel Sydney, a Hilton in Evanston to a huge and very tasteful Asian inspired Presidential suite, some R&C properties in rural France/Switzerland/Germany/Austria, among others I can't recall at the moment. In fact, just last week I was upgraded to the Presidential Suite (with seating for 27, including two dining tables, and a separate study) at (Hyatt) Olive 8 in Seattle, although this week's best upgrade so far was at an excellent suburban Sheraton that treats me extremely well and which I appreciated, especially as a preupgrade about a month in advance to a large and pleasant one bedroom suite, even if you would look down on it.
BTW, I have only once in my life stayed in a Courtyard and this was booked by my business host (who was paying) as the best and most convenient hotel in a smaller town. Never yet in a Fairfield Inn, Moxy, and some of the other legacy MR brands you despise, although I have sometimes stayed in some pretty horrid places on business trips for various reasons. Unfortunately, I can't always control the choice of hotel or location.